Earthquake near Gilroy, CA

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Gilroy, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Gilroy 7 km, intensity II · Interlaken 9 km, intensity II · Aromas 10 km, intensity II · San Martin 12 km, intensity II · Watsonville 13 km, intensity II · Corralitos 15 km, intensity II · Morgan Hill 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

1. 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 22 km WNW of this epicentre Oct 18, 1989
2. 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 14 km N of this epicentre Jul 1, 1911
3. 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 38 km NNW of this epicentre Aug 3, 1903
4. 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 37 km N of this epicentre Apr 24, 1984
5. 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 28 km NNW of this epicentre Jun 11, 1903

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 36.9823, -121.6423. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

1. 2.3 3 km N of Hollister, California 20:53 UTC
2. 2.1 7 km ENE of Gilroy, California 05:03 UTC
3. 1.6 3 km E of Zayante, California 12:48 UTC
4. 1.5 20 km SW of Gustine, California 08:58 UTC
5. 2.0 9 km S of Tres Pinos, California 06:30 UTC
6. 1.6 25 km WSW of Volta, California 05:34 UTC
7. 1.5 18 km SW of Gustine, California 03:39 UTC
8. 2.3 19 km W of Volta, California 02:59 UTC
9. 1.6 19 km W of Volta, California 08:39 UTC
10. 1.7 12 km S of Tres Pinos, California 07:14 UTC
11. 1.8 2 km ENE of Aromas, California 18:55 UTC
12. 1.9 6 km ENE of East Foothills, California 09:45 UTC
13. 1.8 24 km WSW of Volta, California 02:35 UTC
14. 2.2 11 km S of Tres Pinos, California 00:20 UTC
15. 1.6 6 km ENE of East Foothills, California 20:35 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 10:04 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

• The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
• Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
• ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.